citiboi27610

Wake Forest Road could definitely provide another urban spoke radiating from Downtown. NCSU provides a strong anchor for Hillsborough Street and this is where it might have a leg up on some of the other streets. It was also one of the first to be developed outside of the original downtown grid, maintaining a much more urban character almost all the way to the beltline. In comparison, New Bern and Glenwood Avenues bleed into a more suburb arrangement much quicker. Wake Forest Road between Person Street and Atlantic Avenue has a lot going for it. As someone mentioned above, a road diet could provide bike lanes that cold connect downtown to the park planned along Capital Blvd and on to the Crabtree Creek Greenway. Other streets are pretty well connected with modest lots that help make the neighborhood walkable. The intersection with Brookside and surrounding property could be reconfigured and redeveloped to create a node for the neighborhood that takes advantage of its location between downtown and midtown along transit routes. I look forward to seeing what the development activity along Hillsborough will mean for that corridor in the future, particularly further West, as well as corridors like Wake Forest Road, New Bern Avenue, and Glenwood Avenue.

I always wondered about the Airport exits with I-40, but honestly I've never run into any traffic problems when going to or coming from RDU. I think because Airport Blvd. and Aviation Pkwy, from the west and east serve the main entrance to the Airport, as well as from I-540 and Glenwood Avenue, there isn't much need for more complex exits. Should there be more intense development around the airport and to the south, this might need to change.

With that being said, the Harrington/West option seems the best as far as diminishing impacts on the the McDowell/Dawson corridor. As long as the design for Union Station provides for easy transfer between modes (ie. Light Rail to R Line) I don't see a huge problem for anyone (tourists) connecting to the Convention Center. In some way, most of the CAT lines will have to be rearranged. My biggest concern with these plans is that the no matter what, the east side of downtown looses out on convenient and logical connections to the light rail. Like the most of the areas inside of the beltline, this area is relatively dense and has the potential for more intense development, but lacks a rail line going through the center of it. This will be a lost oppurtunity for the city in spreading development interests, not to say that I believe that it is anyone's fault. It's about geography.

Any news on things going on in the area around Franklin Street? I know there is talks of putting a "City Garden" at the corner of Franklin and Blount St. As far as I've heard the Franklin Plaza project is "On Hold". And, the corner with the Super 10, I've always wondered if anything was going to happen with that. (Can't wait to hit up PieBird when it opens.)

Agree with you DwnTwnRaleighGuy. I think going down from a concourse to the platform would add more versatility to the main level and easier access to multiple tracks as well as to areas for buses and other vehicles. If an extension of Glenwood Avenue is incorporated, having the multiple levels would just make sense. I think that bold but classic choices should be made for the station.

This Chick-fil-a will see lots of business. Can someone point me in the direction of the new site plan for this new location? Hopefully it will be a more pedestrian friendly design, as compared to the McDonalds'.

I saw it. I had a similar reaction. I think it might of been a reference (compliment) to the various 'lists' that the Triangle is on. There is a good deal of stuff going on here. And we may not be a big city (the Triangle isn't a city at all) or metropolitan region quite yet, but we are growing up.

I did not realize that there was such a large height difference. I can agree with you ORULZ, after looking at the site plan that the distance from the street (Daniels St. and Clark St.) and the height difference (Oberlin Rd. to Daniels St.) would not be ideal to encourage foot traffic and window shopping. I think the plan should be tweaked some. The lower level could come up to the street, while the rest of the building can be rectangular. That being said, the plaza at the corner of Daniels and Clark will make the height disparity not so great for pedestrians. Personally I'd rather take a flight of stairs rather than to walk up a long hill. (Many of those on campus.)

I hope that this distinction provides incentive for the state and communities to the east and west of the current railway to plan for extensions. It'd be a great thing to be able to travel from one end of the state to the other by train reliably.

I like your ideas as well as your enthusiasm. Since everyone has pointed out that the prison isn't going anywhere, what would be an alternate suggestion to the Union Station Plan. Perhaps with some creative engineering, that section of tracks could still be used with a building on near near the rear of the Central Prison Property somewhere between Morgan and Boylan St. A series of viaducts that would cover the tracks and provide space to better connect to the street grid and provide space for commercial or residential development could complete this plan. This edge of downtown does need better connectivity if development if denser development is expected to expand in this direction.

As plans move forward, this is definitely the time to bring ideas to the table. The Forum always has great insights that I think sometime leaders aren't able to see or come up with alone. I say write, call, find out information and build support for the best facility for the city. That being said, maybe there's a reason for not having the more platforms. And maybe, there is consideration of a hotel being included as part of the commercial components. I also noticed that instead of an extension of glenwood ave as seen in some transportation maps, the draft plan proposed a west street extension to saunders st.

I think that the Cresent development will set a precedent for the other CV blocks, and the surrounding area, but not in a bad way. This area, along with Hillsborough Street (NCSU) has high potential to be a truly urban community. Existing infrastructure and residential areas are good building blocks for adding commercial, office, addition residential and generally intensifying density. Filling in the blocks with mixed use development, improving streets and transit would create a much better community that is less dependent on the automobile. I don't see the Cresent development, in concept, as distracting from the "existing neighborhood fabric". I see it as an oppurtunity for CV to grow up. CV and the surrounding neighborhoods have what North Hills (for the most part) and even Downtown Raleigh doesn't have right now: existing, established neighborhood culture, that if tapped into correctly (unlike Oberlin Village) can be a wonderful thing for Raleigh.

Where is University Mall, like in relation to UNC?

Shaw has an on campus book store, which is located on the ground floor (basement) of the student center. I believe the book store is one of their focus areas for the campus. The want to move it to a better location, along the street to draw in more outdoor traffic. With such a small school, I could imagine the book store is empty a lot. A nice bookstore is good for campuses I believe. Upon a visit to Chicago, there is a small school downtown (i had never heard of) with a large Barnes and Noble attached to it. It provides a place for students to relax, read, buy books, but also for outsiders to enjoy the more public book store. I really liked the feeling, more of a library where you can buy stuff. In Shaw's case, a bookstore would work well at the corner of Wilmington and South Street, which could be incorporated into a taller campus building, hopefully softening the barrier of the memorial auditorium as the end of downtown. Building on the block across the street might be even better. An independent book store would be nice at Moore Square. For some reason I always imagine a future downtown library going near there.

What's up with the bus parked across Fayetteville Street in the background?

Hillsborough Street has the potential to be something all its own and deserves not to be compared to Glenwood South. We as humans tend to speak things into existence by psychologically developing a image of how things should be. Glenwood Ave and Franklin St are both examples for where Hillsborough can go, but its obvious that these areas are different. I'm excited about what the strip can be in the future. I wish we were all in a better position to make our very specific opinions known. What role does the Urban Design Center play in actual development in and around Downtown? Is there like a citizens consortium of some kind that facilitates spread of ideas from the citizen level to the city level? If anyone can answer any or all of these question in whole or part, that'd be great. Thanks.

Its disappointing for NCSU to build 'suburban' in the new developments (Centennial, Biomed Campus). With such large developments that will become job and education centers for the area, the university could do so much to influence private development in those same areas and too their own benefit. If the buildings in the Biomed Campus were built in a more urban style for example with buildings constructed up to the street edge, there could be first level retail and shops. These spaces could be left open for and filled as needed. It'll be a natural move for private developers to continue this style and also fitting to have an area already retrofitted for continued urban development. Residential could also be incorporated by a private developer. This is prime land and should be used to the fullest. NCSU might not be able to stop sprawl in N. Raleigh but it can put a bit more thought into its new developments and make a difference in how people in this area live, work, and even play.

That's so disappointing. I feel like there is a greater desire for smarter development. Our council obviously doesn't align with that view. When do we get to vote for new council members?

My suggestion is that you talk to the managers. I think it'd be more productive to let them know how you and others feel about their establishment and over constructive suggestions. I'm sure they'd be happy to see someone take the initiative in valuing their business. We need more action in addition to all the talk that's going on.

I don't think the city should as far as to ban development in any particular area. There is space for new well planned development everywhere in the city. Raleigh needs to institute more guidelines throughtout all districts. These new policies should be stricter outside of the central buiness district and even stricter outside the city limits proper, deterring development in those areas, and then having other policies that promote good development downtown, infill development, as well transit.

Our skyline is decent. Right now we shouldn't be worrying about the skyline though. We should be concentrating on the character and content of our downtown, not just the looks. And I have noticed that its not likely our skyline will be recognizably different from others. There's plenty of cities that don't have dynamic skylines. I live in miami, for school, the skyline isn't that nice. Charlotte has done a decent job with its signiture towere, the BOA i think.

A colony-like theater will work well. I also think a traditional 20+ theater could work well if the atmosphere downtown is more appealing than the existing theaters. The only theater that has an 'atmosphere' surrounding it is North Hills. Other benefits are only proximity. If the developers can pull in a decent mix of restaurants (pizza, ice cream) and specialty shops (an easy parking access), I can see a larger theater working. Other ideas to consider, is that there aren't any theaters east of the capital blvd./s.saunders cooridor. Also, a central place for friends to meet and watch movies would be great. Currently my friends and I go to North Hills because its right off the beltline. I live near Knightdale and I also have friends that live in Garner, Fuquay, Cary and Wake Forest.

Sbarros is a chain though. A smaller pizza place would be better. Another NY Pizza (Hillsborough St. and Franklin St. @ UNC) or Lily's Pizza (Glenwood Ave.) would be good. Starbucks is every where, but there's not one in downtown proper. They're always a draw. Ice Cream places are always good. The little places are always better than the big names too.

I agree avery. The city has to have a timeline in the redevelopment of downtown. Its similar one big property owned by a developer. There has to be milestones along the way. This dates are what give potential buyers into the development knowledge about where the development is now and how that could change in the future.

The Downtown Raleigh Alliance, or whoever is over development in downtown Raleigh should work on the shopping district concept. Like in most big cities this shouldn't include all the stores we can find every where else. Downtown definitely needs a nice bookstore. A lot of big cities also have a restaurant/bar/arcade called ESPN Zone which would work well with all the college sports fans. The point is, a downtown shopping district usually means something different from what you'll find in the suburbs. The shops in Cameron Village are a great example of stores like that.